Wettest
April on record for Perth

Rainfall - record
high:
The city received 153.6 mm
of rainfall in April on 13
rain days compared with the average of 44 mm on 7 days. This was
Perth's wettest April since records commenced in 1876. The previous highest rainfall
for April on record was 148.8 mm in 1926. The wettest day
in April 2008 was on the 6th when 58.6 mm was recorded, which was
the fourth wettest April day in Perth on record and the wettest day in
Perth in 6 years, since the 69.6 mm on 17 April 2002. Last April,
Perth registered a total rainfall of 76.4 mm on 6 days.

Perth's top 10 wettest Aprils

Year

Rainfall (mm)

Rain days

Ranking

2008

153.6

13

1

1926

148.8

19

2

1882

126.2

15

3

1955

125.2

13

4

1951

120.7

15

5

1937

103.0

10

6

1889

101.4

8

7

1947

100.7

11

8

1931

100.5

10

9

1980

98.1

16

10

Year to date rainfall
- well above average: The
total rainfall for January to April this year was 215.4 mm
recorded on 18 rain
days, making it the second wettest such period on record and the
wettest since the 296.9 mm in 1955. The average is 85 mm on 16 days. Last
year Perth recorded 105.2 mm on 20 days for the first four months
of the year.

Perth's top 10 wettest first 4 months

(January
to April)

Year

Rainfall (mm)

Rain days

Ranking

1955

296.9

25

1

2008

215.4

18

2

1926

213.7

33

3

1990

202.2

31

4

1992

198.0

22

5

2000

193.8

17

6

1934

188.6

21

7

1915

175.4

27

8

1968

159.8

36

9

1961

158.5

32

10

Mean daily maximum temperature
- below average: Perth's mean daily maximum temperature in April
was 24.2°C, compared with the average of 25.6°C. Daily maxima ranged from
a cool 18.8°C on the 19th and 21st to a hot 33.1°C on the 14th.

Mean daily minimum temperature
- below average: Perth's mean daily minimum temperature in April
was 12.5°C, compared with the average of 13.6°C. Daily minima ranged from
a cool 7.0°C on the 21st to a mild 18.5°C on the 8th.

April monthly mean
temperature and sunshine

Element

2008

Long- term Average

Highest

Year

Lowest

Year

Records Commence

Maximum
Temperature (°C)

24.2

25.6

28.2

1978/1999

21.0

1968

1897

Minimum Temperature (°C)

12.5

13.6

17.3

1978

11.6

1914

1897

Sunshine
(hours per day)

8.3

8.2

9.3

1920

4.4

1926

1898

April rainfall and rain
days

Element

2008

Long-term Average

Highest

Year

Lowest

Year

Records Commence

Rainfall (mm)

153.6

44

148.8

1926

0.0

3 years

1876

Rain days

13

6.5

19

1926

0

3 Years

1876

April daily extremes

Element

2008

Date

Extreme

Date

Records
Commence

Highest daily maximum
(°C)

33.1

14/04/2008

37.6

09/04/1910

1897

Lowest daily maximum (°C)

18.8

* Twice

13.6

16/04/1919

1897

Highest daily minimum
(°C)

18.5

08/04/2008

24.4

02/04/1913

1897

Lowest daily minimum (°C)

7.0

21/04/2008

4.1

20/04/1914

1897

Wettest 24 hours to 9am
(mm)

58.6

06/04/2008

69.6

17/04/2002

1876

*Lowest maximum temperature recorded
on 19th and 21st.

Climate of Perth in MayRainfall
shows a dramatic increase in May as cold fronts become more frequent.
The average rainfall in May is almost three times that of April.
However, pleasantly mild days with cool nights also occur and on
average there are almost seven hours of sunshine per day.

May monthly mean
temperatures and sunshine

Element

Average

Highest

Year

Lowest

Year

Records
Commence

Maximum temperature (°C)

22.3

24.0

2003

18.7

1931/1956

1897

Minimum temperature (°C)

10.9

13.8

1972/2005

8.8

2000

1897

Sunshine
(hours per day)

6.7

7.9

2000

3.4

1905

1898

May monthly rainfall and
rain days

Element

Average

Highest

Year

Lowest

Year

Records
Commence

Rainfall (mm)

119

308.1

1879

14.1

1964

1876

Rain days

12.2

25

1921

5

1913

1876

Cold days in
May: On average Perth has one cold day when the maximum temperature
is 15°C or lower. The greatest number of such days was three in 1936.
The most recent cold day Perth recorded in May was 11.5°C on 23 May 1995,
the coldest May day on record for Perth.

Latest 30°C
day of the season: On average, Perth experiences a maximum temperature
of 30°C or higher in May in six years out of ten. The latest 30°C day
in the autumn season occurred on 9 May 1962, with 30.0°C.

Latest 32°C
day of the season: Hot days are very rare in May with only one
in every ten years on average. The latest maximum temperature of 32°C
or greater occurred on 3 May 1907, with 32.2°C.

Note: Official Perth
observations have been recorded at several different sites with varying
instrumentation over the years, and these changes can affect the continuity
of the climate record. For the current Perth (Mount Lawley) site, the
most significant changes of this kind relate to temperature and rain days.
For that reason, current mean temperature and rain day data quoted here
are based only on readings from the Perth (Mount Lawley) site, which commenced
observations in 1993. Sunshine recordings are from Perth Airport and for
similar reasons current means use only Perth Airport data, which commenced
in 1993.